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Literacy

Learning to read is seriously fun

Teaching children to read is not only a complicated process, it’s also a highly controversial one. You’ve probably heard some of the debate on TV or read about it in the news. Basically, the debate centers on two main approaches: phonics and whole language. Phonics emphasizes teaching children to sound out words using letter-sound relationships, while whole language emphasizes the use of context and meaning to decode words. 

For nearly 20 years, schools across the country embraced the whole language model. But as literacy scores have declined across the nation, and researchers have learned more about how children’s brains work, a push toward phonics instruction has emerged.

Watch how kids are learning to read

And maybe all this has you wondering...

What exactly is happening in Stillwater Area Public Schools? Have we made any changes in how we teach students in recent years?
 
The answer is yes. 

During the 2019-2020 school year our district began adding phonics instruction in early elementary classrooms. Since then, all elementary teachers, special education teachers and interventionists have been trained in phonemic awareness and many are also involved in an intensive program around the science of reading.